Retribution
by Theoris
Summary: It turns out that Tomoe's broken sheath was never enough to withhold the untamed insanity of the most ruthless assassin, and instead of wandering peacefully Battousai was locked behind bars for ten whole years...
1. Golden Eye

She had heard many stories about this place. The men jokily spoke about it as the Eye of Heaven, an ironic claim since the cell lay in the utmost bottom floor of the entire prison and therefore seldom met even the slightest of light. Only monsters who were going straight for hell would find themselves here. It was cold, dark and filled with a foul stench than no one would ever bother to try to get rid of. It was no use, since the scent by now was so imbedded in the very stone that covered the floor as well for the walls and ceiling. One would have to mind their footing well, since it would be fatal to slip and harm a leg or two in the damp corridor when only one person would be let down at a time.

Kaoru shivered slightly and pressed her arms closer to her body, carefully minding the tray she had firmly gripped in front of her. This was her first day as the new warden of the Eye. The one before her had passed on only yesterday evening; the prison chief reassuring everyone that it was due to a sudden illness. The guards were of another opinion though, suspecting one of the prisoners to be of cause - more precisely, the very same prisoner that Kaoru was heading to bring breakfast to this very moment.

She hadn't suggested to take this job herself of course – not to say that she wasn't brave enough or hadn't seen enough of what the world's most wretched men looked like to be unprepared – it was just that all the stories and the rumors about what lurked down in the Eye had finally gotten to her after months helping out in the prison. Actually, she would have been just fine minding her own business to clean the headquarter, the cells and occasionally giving a lesson or two in swordsmanship to the guards and their children, but since she were the lowest in rank here (and there were no one at the moment who were willingly to take the job after the warden's mysterious death) it fell on her to manage it. Kaoru had no other choice to nod in agreement at her new post and thank her superiors for the opportunity to prove herself further, disregarding the tingling feeling of fear at the deepest corner of her heart. She had to pull through. She needed the money.

The young woman shivered again and bit her bottom lip as she carefully walked the dark stairs down to the Eye. The man guarding the door had let her pass without even glancing at her twice and as he shut the door behind her and locked it Kaoru stopped and slowly jumped once to make sure that she still had her keys in her pocket. She wouldn't want to be stuck here any longer than she needed to.

Kaoru gazed upon the food she was supposed to deliver and felt her deep blue eyes narrow at the sight. The tray contained a gray, lifeless pudding made of rice and meat, a dry, lonely piece of bread and a jug of water – the same menu all the other prisoners shared. While recalling this, the swordswoman felt her tense shoulders relax slightly, as she came to the conclusion that no matter what kind of evil souls the Eye inhabited, they were still humans. Although she couldn't help but wonder what were truly the reason for depriving their eyes from the light of life – their lack of freedom or this terrible excuse for food. She had put real effort in the beginning not to pity the villains, but soon found it to be very much too hard of a task not to, and she was most likely not being able to stop today either.

As Kaoru met the end of the stairs the darkness engulfed her. She frowned and tried to look ahead of the corridor but soon found it useless, so she gently put the tray aside and made fast work of the torch on the wall, lightning it easily with her experienced hands. The warmth of the fire lit up the darkened path ahead and spread a somewhat encouraging touch in the usual coldness. She put the flint away and took the torch in one hand, balancing the tray on the other and continued forward.

To be entirely honest, Kaoru had no idea of how many men were kept in the Eye. So far, she had heard enough stories not to be surprised if it contained quite a few. What she was met by on the other hand was four empty cells on either side of her. She scanned them thoroughly with the torch until she was entirely sure. Feeling quite uneasy, the woman walked on further down the corridor only to find a dead end in sight. She watched the last of cells, first to her right, concluding that this one too inhabited nothing but air alike, and lastly the one on her left…

She froze as a presence could be made out from within the shadows in one of the corners of the room. A man sat there, back resting against the stone wall with his head lowered. Dark bangs covered most of his face and he stirred as the light remained intact, staying in the same place with Kaoru's yet awaiting shape. The prisoner looked up, revealing glistening hard amber eyes that could pierce through her soul if she remained too long. His gaze woke her up from her sudden trance and she hurried to bow slightly.

"Good morning. My name is Kamiya Kaoru and I'll be the new warden from now on…"

The man said nothing in response but kept his eyes fixed on her. The swordswoman had seen worse reactions and moved on with the motions. She placed the torch in its holder on the last wall and bent down to ground level with the tray. A small hatch could be found in the wooden bars and she opened with only a little difficulty, pushing the bowl, bread and jug inside before closing it again. She quickly got to her feet once more and retrieved her light out.

"Enjoy your breakfast," she said politely before turning her back and began to walk back through the corridor again.

"Kamiya Kaoru."

The warden stopped abruptly in her tracks as she heard her name echo back over the silent floor. The voice that had greeted her was clear and pensive, not exactly what she had been expecting from such a rugged figure. She slowly turned and found his intense eyes still lingering on her.

"What are you doing in the Devil's nest, _Kamiya Kaoru?" _

It was something in the way he accentuated her name that sent shivers down her spine. The uneasiness returned with it and she had to mind her footing when she returned outside his bars. An outburst of Ki suddenly poured out for her, making the woman's knees almost buckle. Surprised and even though she wouldn't admit it to herself, feeling the sharp hand of fear grasping her heart, it took several seconds before she could find her tongue again and answer his question.

"Just working," she said trying to loose some of the tension in her shoulders, determined not to show anything but composure outwards. Kaoru swallowed quickly when she saw that the prisoner came to his feet and slowly walked closer to the bars with a smooth walk. The light fell on his features, showing a more than torn gi and hakama in dark grey – standard prisoner clothing – being held up by a lean but strong frame and rust red hair tied up in a high ponytail. The golden orbs he wore as eyes ate her up as fell as took her in and the moving light from the torch had them come alive as bursting flames licking the sharp lines that formed them. His face was covered in several layers of dirt that not even the weekly bucket of water to wash with could remove properly. While being so close to the bars and the torch in hand, Kaoru could still make out that the features behind the filth were delicate.

"What school do you practice?" he suddenly asked, eyeing her gi and hakama as well as the bokken at her side with interest. Kaoru lowered her free hand to rest against the cool wooden hilt, pride lightening up her face.

"It's called the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. It's a sword that protects life."

The prisoner remained perfectly still, not even moving a finger.

"I've never heard of it."

"It's a kenjutsu created by my father," Kaoru eagerly explained. "Even now – ten years in the Meiji Era – chaos still has a common place in ordinary people's life. Kamiya Kasshin Ryu is helping them to protect themselves and the ones most close to them. It brings harmony and peace to those in need, without unnecessary bloodshed."

Her joyful smile shrank a couple of teeth as the man in front of her began to laugh whole-heartedly. An unusual deep frown graces her features instead by the time he'd stop to wheeze for air.

"What's so funny?"

The prisoner found his breath once more and eased the grasp of his knees. He slowly stood and walked up to the bars again, this time even closer as if making sure that the mocking could be seen clearly from his eyes.

"It's all bullshit," he said, half a grin fast covering the left side of his face. When shock turned into fury from the woman he continued before she had time to open her mouth to respond.

"I can tell that you've never killed before. The sword is a weapon. Kenjutsu is murder. Claiming it to be something else is only done by someone who's never stained their own hands, like you, _Kaoru-dono_." He gestured with a filthy hand towards her. "It's one very sweet fairytale, I'll give you that, but I wouldn't want to share it."

The prisoner left her there and went to one of the walls to sit down against and casually place his hands behind his head. Kaoru was way to angry to come up with a retort and simply stood there for several seconds trying to contain her fury until she did.

"Why are you still here?"

He glanced at her still wearing the taunting smile.

"Go home and practice. You need it."

In one swift motion the swordswoman had placed the torch back on the wall and gripped her bokken, grasping it hard but not pulling it. The man turned his head at the last movement.

"So what if I've never killed anyone? I never had to and I will never need to either-"

"How would you know?" he interrupted bluntly. She had to strain herself now to make her voice sound calm.

"I can fight for the weak and dear with this and the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. It's worked before and it'll work again. As long as I keep fighting, foes will be defeated and better times will come – for everyone."

"The world doesn't work that way, Kaoru-dono."

"Then tell me how it works. Is it by just killing people endlessly?"

"Why yes." While leaning his head in her direction, the soft light from the torch played over his dark face, showing how the hard eyes danced. He continued.

"When evil emerge, it is in the shapes of men. But men are seldom immortal. All men can be slain, one way or the other…"

"You as well then." In her still barely contained rage, she couldn't help but add in. The man behind bars snickered.

"That's correct. You have rather keen eyes, Kaoru-dono, to see through my illusion so quickly. But yes, I'm just a man like any other, and therefore that goes for me too."

Kaoru frowned slightly; not quite following in the new direction the conversation had gone.

"However, there are different kinds of evil – as many as there are different kinds of men," the prisoner went on. "There are those who are too weak to do what is right, or those who are too ignorant, too selfish, too corrupt or just too human." He gazed over at her again. "You have seen them before and you will see them again. Men like this never change. Instead, their faults give birth to new individuals with the same raw ambition. The only way to halter this progress is to eliminate the source from the beginning."

Kaoru gripped her bokken hilt even harder. Even though no swordfight had occurred, she felt it as if a battle hade already been sprung. It was a matter of will and experience - and of honor, as she had no intention of letting this man getting away with insulting her family's most sacred treasure.

"I don't believe you," she replied firmly. "More precisely, I don't believe that not at least one out of all these people cannot be saved. People _can _change, over time and with the right motivation. I dread to ponder over what you've been through to turn out like this!"

The prisoner started to laugh again, this time a little softer but nonetheless mockingly.

"You're so ridiculously naïve that it almost hurts," he grinned. "You may believe that I'm just cynical, but I still speak the truth. I pity you for not being more experienced with life by now. I honestly do."

"Well, I'd rather be naïve than merciless. What if you'd come across someone that you were wrong about, someone that could still change or that was indeed innocent. You'd slay them too, without a second thought?"

Something darkened in the man's gaze and Kaoru flinched unwillingly.

"My objective has never been to harm any innocents. Don't take me for such a weak spirited scum."

"I still won't buy it. There _is_ some goodness in everyone."

"There is _not _some goodness in everyone. How can you possibly say something like that with a clear conscience while seeing so much suffering in the world caused only by evil and evil alone? Can you look the husband that just murdered his wife and children for money in the eye and claim that there is good in him as well?"

Kaoru's hesitation was barely visible.

"Yes," she answered and nodded confidently. His gaze lingered upon her for several intense seconds, before he faced the ground and gentle shook his head.

"I rest my case. You may go now. I have a breakfast to attend to and some sanity to regain." He went up to pick up the bowl, bread and water and sat down again in the same spot. Kaoru remained motionless for a while, not sure what to say or do.

"First I'd like an apology for what you said about the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," she heard herself say loud and clear. The prisoner didn't even pause his eating.

"Well, no. I carry a different opinion than you. Why should I apologize for it?"

"Fine, but you don't have to be so utterly disrespectful."

The man eyed her seriously while raising the chopsticks for another mouthful. Only the smallest of twitches in his face revealed how disturbing the taste was.

"The truth isn't always beautiful," he said calmly, his voice deprived of any teasing tone of before. "As for your case, the _Kamiya Kasshin Ryu _is in fact no more than an excuse to live on believing that you're doing something for the world when you're actually not. It's an illusion to make you feel better, when the truth is that you're just too weak to really make a difference. I will not take that back, nor will I rephrase it."

The young swordswoman could feel her blood boiling behind her ears. After her father's tragic death, she had put up with a lot of people telling her to quit the school or that it would be too tough of a task for her to try and continue the vision her father had had. Truth to be told, Kaoru was fed up with such talk now, and wouldn't just sit around being spit on by some criminal who wouldn't have a clue about what she was going through in the first place.

She quickly eyed him over a last time. The strong wave of ki from earlier still had her hair in the neck rising by just recalling the memory, but that didn't mean that his fighting skills were anything other than rusty. She took a deep breath (trying hard not to show how much the stench ravished her poor nose) and straightened her back.

"If you won't apologize, then I'll have to challenge you."

He stopped eating in mid-air, slowly lowering the chopsticks.

"Oh, would you now?" he drawled and put away the bowl to stand by the bars again, the grin creeping back and showing of a set of hungry teeth.

"What are your terms?"

Kaoru could make out just enough interest to become a little suspicious, but in her anger she let it pass.

"We fight, in there," she nodded towards his cell, "with bokkens. Can you use one?"

The prisoner glanced down at her hip and up to her eyes again. His amber eyes revealed nothing.

"Not my natural choice, but I might," he answered. Kaoru didn't take the hint.

"If I win… well, you know what I want by now," she said, glaring from under her bangs. The man's half-grin went to a full one.

"And if I lose… then I'll owe you a favor for the trouble, one you can decide for yourself."

A small light were lit in those cold eyes.

"That's rich of you, _Kaoru-dono. _Then, as a fitting request – I want you to help me escape this place."

The girl shook her head calmly.

"I'll accept anything but that."

"It's a deal." He stretched out his hand towards her.

"No, wait. Not anything, obviously," she said, realizing her mistake just in time. The offered handshake slowly sank in front of her.

"Something that I'd actually allow," she finally declared after some thinking. The prisoner shrugged casually.

"I take what I can get."

"I figured. Time's tonight, after dinner."

"Agree."

It wasn't until she gripped his dirty hand and not only felt the strength that lingered in it, but the many callouses in his palm that she realized that she hadn't thought this one through entirely.

* * *

**Hi there! I've had this idea for some time now and I'm not entirely sure where to go with it yet, but I feel greatly inspired and that's enough for now! For the record, I've really missed this place and I plan to start spending way more time here once more. Feels real good to be back. But enough of me now - hope you enjoyed and let me know what you think!**

**~Theoris**


	2. Duel of Honor

**Greeting! First off, I can't thank you guys enough for the incredible response. Just wow. I'm still in shock and actually a little proud too, haha. I know I have a long way to go until I can call myself a good writer - and especially when it comes to writing in English - but still, you make my effort feel pretty damn nice. It's extremely encouraging to read your thoughts and I'll do my best to improve in the future - both with grammar, spelling, plot and ideas - to keep you in your seats. But from the heart, thank you very much.**

happyloveygirl**: I know and neither do I, and that's why I thought it would be interesting to present a different kind of Battousai than the usual. Still, the point isn't to create a entirely different character, but merely to alter some of his attitude when given an entirely different course of life. I hope you'll enjoy what happens later on as well and thank you!**

sirenmergirl**: You're right and I've tried taking your advice in re-reading and checking for errors more thoroughly this time, but I'm still struggling greatly with the grammar. As for now, I have no one to proofread it for me, but I'll keep an eye out for someone who can. Anyway, your suggestions are well received and I actually had to go back and alter a few things after I read your review that I decided that I just couldn't leave like that, and for that I'm very grateful. Thank you for taking your time writing such a long comment to help me improve. I truly appreciate it and I'll consider what you've said carefully.**

**And now - please enjoy!**

**~Theoris**

* * *

The more Kaoru thought it over during the day, the more she came to realize that it wasn't much of a good idea at all. As she'd left the Eye to cool off some while cleaning the corridors upstairs she'd come to the conclusion that even her life might actually be in danger. The previously warden's sudden death could very well, as the common rumor suggested, be explained by a ruthless attack from a prisoner. If that were the actual case, it meant that Kaoru would in a matter of hours be fighting that poor man's killer. Obviously, it was no comforting thought at all and the young woman gritted her teeth in frustration. Why couldn't she just have kept quiet, dealing with the insults more maturely? She could have shrugged it off temporarily and looked up more about the crimson haired man before rushing into a challenge like that. Normally, one wouldn't feel the same need to research one's opponents but this was a different case. Was this man even a swordsman? What would keep him from finishing her off if he happened to be a better fighter than her? And if she was gone, who would take care of…

She shook the line of thought out of her head. She just couldn't afford to lose. Still, her body was slowly but firmly heading for its limits with all the extra work she had put up with these past months. The kenjutsu lessons at the different dojos took up most of her time and energy since she was so eager to do a good job as an instructor, but the time it took for her to visit each of them stole many hours of her already short day. When she wasn't giving lessons, she had been here cleaning, helping out, teaching at times and as for today look after the rude prisoner downstairs. As for cleaning and taking care of the dojo, it would have to wait until late evening to even be considered, yet executed. Kaoru was not someone who'd give up easily, but the stressful weight of everything felt heavier each day. Good thing that she now had a couple of extra hands – if not rather stubborn hands – waiting for her at home. That thought gave her the little extra strength that she needed to finish the sweeping with a little more of enthusiasm than usual.

It turned out that neither the odds nor time were on her side that day. All too soon she found herself delivering lunch to the prisoners alongside her working comrades. Kaoru eyed each of the villains with keen and thoughtful eyes, searching for any similarities to the man downstairs – either it is the same hard gaze, unusual movements or outburst of ki, but no matter how well she watched them she was left unsatisfied in the end.  
When it was time to travel underground again she decided to make the visit as short as possible. As she passed the man guarding the door down, she saw that he had been replaced by another man, who was shorter and seemed to carry a brighter mood. He even smiled slightly at her before he moved to unlock and hold the door for her. Surprised, but grateful for the change, Kaoru thanked him before she headed down the stairs and repeated the routine with the awaiting torch.

The swordswoman could feel his golden gaze linger on her before she even had him in her field of view. The uneasiness grew silly thoughts in her mind such as him being able to see through walls and she hurried to clear her head with will and focus. _Get yourself together!_

Kaoru turned to look at him but regretted it immediately as the intensity in his eyes grew overbearing in only a moment. He watched her as if he was going to eat her.

"_Here_ is your lunch," she said and made an obvious gesture towards the food she'd just pushed behind the hatch. The man chuckled softly.

Kaoru locked the hatch back in place again and slowly stood to retrieve the torch from the wall, when she realized that she had to stay put at least for a short while longer.

"I forgot something this morning," she began and walked a step closer to the massive bars, peering in through them.

"I never asked for your name."

The prisoner turned his dirtied face towards her with a look of surprise in it.

"They didn't tell you?" he asked and as she didn't answer immediately one of his eyebrows slowly made their way up.

"Actually they did. But in all honesty, I'd rather hear it from you."

He didn't say anything and so she continued.

"It's just that, being handed so many names by other than their original owners – and especially in a place such as this – it makes everyone here seem like…as if they were treated as something close to cattle. And I don't like that at all. I haven't been here for that long, but so far all I've seen is just human beings behind each and every bar. So I'd rather ask for people's names by myself."

…_I just can't stop talking today, can I? _

She quickly thought her words over and content with the fact that they showed no obvious weakness to her soon-to-be opponent, she firmly stood her ground and waited for a reaction. The man with crimson hair watched her in silence, as if looking for something. Then he smiled a crooked smile.

"My name is Himura Kenshin."

_No, I still haven't heard of him before. I guess I just have to find someone to tell me more then._

"Thank you," she said and turned to leave. Before she did so however, another thing popped up in her head and she gave air to it before thinking.

"Why are you being locked up, Himura-san?" His name felt weird on her tongue, since she was still mad about earlier insults. It made her somewhat proud that she could remain so polite.

The prisoner's grin faded a little by the question and something cold flew past his amber orbs, almost as if there was some buried sadness in them that came to surface. It was gone when she blinked.

"I'm being locked up because I'm a traitor, Kaoru-dono."

A traitor? The thought consumed her as she left, and as she passed the guard on her way up to the light again, she couldn't help by talk to him for a while, trying to have him spill all that he knew of the man he kept guarded from the outside. But no matter what she asked, he seemed to know no more than her - other than Himura's name, his crime and the time he'd already spent down there, there were no more information to obtain. The guard claimed that in all the years he had worked there, nothing else had been told about the man (and to be frankly, the guard added, no one had dared to ponder before). The very thought of having a prisoner worthy of the isolation of the Eye was already a danger to be reckoned with. Nothing good could come out of prying, he assured her.

The conversation left Kaoru alone with even more thoughts to try and figure out on her own. The growing uneasiness had no intention of settling any time soon, and as she had many more unanswered questions and not one more useful tip of how to prepare for the challenge, today's outcome didn't look so good at all. But she managed to get herself together in the end with the thought that this was a fight to uphold family honor. Her father had in many ways been a good man and strived for the happiness in others before his own. She had no intentions of every shaming his memory, something that the poor prisoner downstairs soon would discover.

* * *

It was late and darkness had already fallen outside. Dinner had been served quite some time ago and now it was time for all prisoners to drift off to sleep and for most of the guards to go home. Kaoru made her excuse to linger for a while longer and clean more of the floors and the men took kindly to her help and left her behind without further questions as they knew they needed all the help they could get in running the place. The only ones remaining except for her were the few guards that would stay overnight, guarding the Eye, the corridor with the more dangerous villains and the main gate out.

Kaoru took her time to finish the floor and waited long enough for the guards to forget about her before she silently made her way over to the chief's office. The door was unlocked and she peered in quickly to make sure she was still the only one there, but her cautious attitude was in vain. The dark room was silent, inviting and almost peaceful, and the swordswoman relaxed some. She walked over to the wall behind the desk, were the bokkens had their place on the wall. As she went to pick out one, her eyes suddenly caught a shadow on the right. Kaoru's curiosity guided her over and urged her to move some of the huddle out of the way, carefully not to mess too much up as she probably had to get it back in place again later.

The two silhouettes greeted at her from their resting against the wall. It was a katana and a wakizashi, both with black hilts and darker sheaths looking back at her. The young woman gazed upon them with a light frown and slowly reached out a hand. When she was barely out of reach she suddenly came to a stop. Something was wrong. Her hand hovered but couldn't move any closer. A small bead of sweat made its way down her temple and she clenched her teeth. The weapons were somehow… she struggled with the correct word...

...vibrating. As if they had a pulse.

She blinked. That couldn't be right. Kaoru had felt some swords in her days and some of them came out more intense than others due to their previous path on the road of life and death. But this was on an entirely different scale. She wanted to reach over the last bits of air that separated the contact and feel the steel in her hands, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating…  
...but in the end, she just didn't dare. There was something way to strong that held her back and made her lower her hand as well as put back everything she had moved out of the way to get to the weapons. She went back to the bokkens and took one in her hand, examining it absent-minded. The familiar feeling of the cool wood in her hand slowly brought her back to her senses again and she peered to the side were the odd steal rested. Then she firmly put the wooden sword down her sash next to her own one and left the office.

She waited until the guard moved away for a quick visit to the restroom before she hurried to the door and made fast work of the procedure of unlocking it, stepping inside of the Eye and relocking it behind her with her own set of keys. Now the only tricky part would be to get out without raising suspicion, but she'd come up with something later. Now it was time to focus on something entirely different.

Himura was already waiting for her by the bars when she arrived. He looked as composed as always, showing no excitement what so ever. Before that could get to her, Kaoru quickly put the torch in place and went over to him. She reached into her pockets but stopped in her tracks.

"Are you a swordsman?" she asked and eyed him carefully. He nodded gravely.

"So, you won't just run off when I unlock this door, leaving me and our challenge behind?"

"I will not." To emphasize he stepped back to the furthest corner of the cell, giving her room to breathe and unlock at her own pace. He remained there until she had locked it again and put the key securely in her pocket. She handed him the borrowed bokken and as she stepped back she could feel that strong ki from earlier awaken along with a certain spark in those golden eyes as he took in the feeling and beauty of the wooden sword. The prisoner tested his grip as well as the swiftness of the blade as he cut through the air a couple of times, seeming surprisingly content with the result. Then he put it behind his own sash and went to mirror Kaoru's respectful bowing.

"Let's get this over with," Kaoru said and pulled her bokken, having it facing the man directly.

"Ah," he answered. She could tell he bent his knees slightly, but otherwise he didn't move a muscle. They remained motionless for another minute or so, as the swordswoman tried with all her might to read her opponent, and she assumed that he did so as well. At the same time, she tried to keep her head as cool as possible. There was no hurry to make a mistake after all.

When nothing happened, Kaoru decided to charge forward with a cry but soon had to turn around as her weapon only connected with the air in which Himura had waited for her in. She charged again, her bokken coming down from above in a diagonal attack form the upper right, but again only connected with emptiness. She gritted her teeth and spun again, thrusting immediately as she somewhat expected an attack by now, but in the end the man once more kept his distance. Their uneven dance kept on for another moment, until Kaoru paused in her advances to breathe and think things over. This swordsman, this Himura, had better be the fastest being that she'd ever fought with before. Not only did he execute unusually quick dodges, but he also moved so smoothly and fast that she could barely even make out his movements in the first place. How was she supposed to even land a hit on someone with such an amazing speed?

As she searched for the answer to that, the prisoner watched her thoughtfully and lowered his bokken a little.

"Are you sure that you can't offer me my freedom if I win this, Kaoru-dono?" he asked. Kaoru was completely taken aback by his sudden question and lost her tongue for a second. Then she shook her head.

"I can't do that," she simply said. "I can't just go on breaking the law like that."

"But you see,_ Kaoru-dono_, I don't think that that is the problem," Himura said and took a step closer. A small half-grin played in his features again. "I mean, if that were truly the case, you would never have stepped inside of this cell to fight me to begin with."

She was utterly flabbergasted. He was right. The man in front of her, _taunting _her, was right. She thought highly of order and rules, but apparently not enough to never break one herself. Actually, this wasn't the first time, but then again…

"I…" she said but interrupted herself. Kaoru couldn't properly defend her actions. She had lost her temper and her head this morning and this was the result. Striking a deal with a criminal? She needed a holiday and a very long one to be honest. But that couldn't come true any time soon, because truth to be told, she was…

"You're trapped."

She looked up with fear in her eyes, not even trying to hide it.

"Isn't that so? I've seen that stress and exhaustion a hundred times before. Soon you'll be on the brink of collapsing if this goes on for much longer. If you keep neglecting the truth of your greatest need, which is your freedom, you will soon find yourself to be nothing more than an empty shell – fragile, and _breakable_. I can help you, Kaoru-dono. I can assist you in finding that freedom. All you have to do first is to deliver _mine_."

The young woman swallowed. It gave her the coldest chills down her spine to have been seen through so quickly and by a complete stranger above all. Not even Tae, her friend since long ago had seen anything – or mentioned anything - in these past months. Or could it be, that she knew something was up but had kept quiet about it since Kaoru hadn't said anything herself? _Tae… that would be just like you…_

She looked up in the face of her opponent and saw a look of satisfaction being born from under the filth. It made her gather the last of her courage and shrug his words of her shoulders.

"Enough," she growled and shook her head. "I will not let you out of here, no matter what you say or think of my life."  
She raised her bokken and pointed it firmly towards his chest area.

"Now, fight me."

Himura gaze upon her expressionlessly for a while until he sighed.

"Very well," he said and took a step forward – and completely disappeared. She turned and looked from all angles she could think of, when suddenly a fuzzy movement approached from her right. Kaoru only barely managed to get her weapon up in time for the impact of his and she rather felt than heard the poor wood scream out from the ruthless usage. Himura stepped back and disappeared again, his movements' way too fast for the swordswoman to follow. She put up the best fight she could, fueling her aching muscles with the strength that came from the thought of protecting her family honor and the honor of her beloved father. But even though her fighting spirit were on top, her body couldn't dream off keeping up for any longer, and so Kaoru made her decision. With a fierce battle cry, she launched out and put all her force behind the attack. She had closed her eyes and relied only on her instincts, and as her bokken made contact, she knew it had paid off.

_C-RA-CK!_

The sound that truly didn't belong in her calculation brought her back and as her wide opened eyes took in the scene, the shivers of her broken wooden sword flew past her and quickly covered the floor around her feet. In the other end of her clash, Himura stood with his bokken raised, but with his own one painfully intact and undamaged. His lower left arm, whose line went along with the slightly curved blade, worked as a protective wall and had spared his bokken from breaking as well.

Kaoru quickly jumped back to place more distance between them and raised the hilt in front of her. She had never imagined that it would've come to this, but in the end she was also a bit thankful since this meant that the fight soon would be over. She would end this. She could!

The prisoner was not late to realize that the fight was still going on and without hesitation he launched forward with the same breathtaking speed. At the same time Kaoru dived down, aiming to snap the handle over his right knee. She knew that even though she would most likely not be able to see it, it could only cover a smaller area. She pulled her arms forward and pushed hard.

Only this time, there was no contact. Kaoru fell to the floor, unbalanced as she had too much force forward and hurried to scramble to her feet. In the instant when she realized that she couldn't find the man in any part of the room, she came to the ice-cold conclusion that she had lost. A clear voice could be heard from above her head and she looked up just in time for the prisoner to come falling down with his weapon held high over his head. The swiftness behind it made the bokken invisible during the motion as he launched it forward and had it crashing down on the area between her shoulder and neck.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu; _Ryu Tsui Sen!"_

The impact was so devastating that she could barely feel her body ripping apart before darkness numbed both her vision as well as her pain, sending her quickly down the path of unconsciousness. A vague sound of something that came clattering to the ground and a warm pair of hands running over her skin were the last things she noticed before she fell through the surface of nothingness.


	3. Rain and Promises

"…_help you."  
_  
Pain. Deep, pulsating pain.  
_  
"Let me help you."  
_  
In her head. Shoulder. It throbbed everwhere. She needed it to stop. Kaoru blinked and could slowly make out two fuzzy figures before her. One in grey clothing with crimson hair that stood out with great contrast and one in dark blue hakama and white gi and darker hair held in place. The one that looked like her spoke up.

"_You want me to trust the word of a traitor?"_

The fuzzy man representing Himura smiled back.

"_Yes. The word of a traitor," _he replied and even though the spectator Kaoru – the _real _Kaoru – must've been too far away from the prisoner as she lay on the floor to actually see it, she somehow knew that the cold shadow from earlier had passed by in his golden eyes again. She blinked and suddenly opened her real eyes. There was some distant sound from above her; a voice calling her name.

"Are you alright, Kaoru-san?"

Rough, but not unkind hands gently shook her and she winced when he touched that spot where Himura's bokken had landed.

"What happened?" he called out again. The swordswoman faced the source of the familiar voice with her blurry vision, waiting for it to steady itself and reveal the kind guard from yesterday hovering over her with concern in his dark eyes. At the sight of his face, memories started to fall back in place.

"Himura…he…" she began but stopped when the stabbing agony hit her again. She slowly sat up with the help of the guard and carefully placed a hand over the sore flesh. She was still groggy, slightly wobbling on the spot and with a nagging feeling in the back of her head that the entirety of the whole reality hadn't yet caught up with her…

"He has escaped."

Kaoru's whole-being turned into perfectly cold ice. The veil that covered her exhausted mind was immediately discarded for the harsh truth that met her searching eyes as they quickly took in her surroundings and what was missing in them. There was absolutely no trace of the prisoner what so ever. The utter shock made her just sit there and stare at the wide opened cell door until the man next to her called for her attention once more.

"Please Kaoru-san…" he said and as she turned back to him, she realized that she wasn't in the cell herself anymore, but sprawled out on the nasty, cold floor.

"I need you to tell me exactly what occurred here."

But Kaoru had no immediate answers to give. Well, she did have enough to get herself fired, but that wasn't it at all. There was still something important she was missing. Her head kept spinning and as she hadn't yet figured out what to do about the fact that she was in here before her shift had even begun, she kept staring blankly at her dirty hands, slowly starting to freak out.

_Focus, Kaoru! First things first – should you confess?  
_  
She locked eyes with the man in front of her.  
_  
If I lose this job…_

_…you'll just have to find another._

Her gaze followed the deep frown displayed on the guard's face.  
_  
Two wrongs don't make a right.  
_  
So Kaoru steeled herself and told him everything. When she finished he wore a stern expression in the soft features.

"We have to go see the prison chief. Now," he said and extended a hand to help her up. The swordswoman put down her left one for the support of the ground as she pulled forth her right hand towards his. A small sound was heard from her left and when she looked for the source she found the broken pieces of her bokken being shred all over the floor.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that the prisoner escaped because young Kamiya challenged him to a duel? Is that right, Eisuke-san?"

Eisuke stared the floor down as he nodded. He only dared to glance at Hiroshi out of the corner of his eye as the mentioned paced back and forth in the office as he thought things over.

"Yes, sir," the guard quickly added as the taller man stopped in his tracks as he couldn't hear the first answer. Eisuke watched as his boss slowly walked over, letting the guard in on the vision of the man's moving beard as the prison chief absentmindedly chewed on the insides of his cheeks.

"You don't think that there's anything strange about all this?" he asked and the guard pulled his eyes higher with great effort.

"I personally don't think so, sir. She seemed convincing enough to me."

Hiroshi let him go by turning his back on him, only to let his gaze wander to a certain pile of boxes and junk in the corner of the room.

"Hmm... Well, for all I know, there seems to be something fishy about her story. For instance, you said you found her in the corridor between the cells?"

Eisuke hurried to speak up this time and made sure his voice bore well as he agreed.

"If what she said was true, wouldn't Kamiya-san have been found _inside_ of the prisoner's cell?"

"Yes, but..." the guard began but stopped himself because he had no explanation to that.

"I believe that Kamiya-san had the bad luck of moving to close to the bars, whereas she was being grabbed and knocked out cold with her own bokken and having her set of keys stolen. As for this story she told us, it was merely the offspring of her shame and damaged pride from the fact that she'd let herself be overpowered so easily. She has been here enough for me to acknowledge her as a good and responsible girl who wouldn't compromise the safety of others for the sake of a duel caused by tainted honor."

The prison chief turned and searched the other man's face for an objection and soon found one.

"But sir, I actually think that she speaks the truth…"

"Well, I don't," Hiroshi interrupted and tilted his head to the side, "and as the one in charge of this place, I'd like to see this matter dismissed from now on; the fact that Himura is loose and out there somewhere should be our greatest concern, and I want every guard having this in mind from this hour and forth. Inform the police immediately and make sure everyone keeps an eye out and reports back at regular intervals. Is that understood?"

Eisuke straightened his back even more.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. And the girl… where is she at the present?"

"Right outside, sir."

"Escort her home. Make sure she gets the rest she needs and tell her that no further services will be required of her until she can fully manage them once more."

The guard bowed respectfully and made his exit. As the door closed behind him, Hiroshi let out the deep breath he'd been holding in. The new, unrestrained expression that played over his features made him look nearly a decade older and he slowly raised a couple of worn hands to gently rub his temples.

This was bad. No, this could possibly be worse than bad. As one of the few left that knew more of Himura than the rest, he was confident in that. This was probably the worst thing that could have happened. And to think he even covered up for the girl. No, it was better this way. She didn't need to know more, or else the guilt she probably already felt would crush her.

The pile called for his attention again. There was only one thing left to do now that he was all alone in the room - he had to make sure that his suspicion was based on safe grounds. As the last of junk was moved out of the way, Hiroshi realized just how horrible it could feel to be right when you truly wished for the opposite. The corner that was usually hidden away from curious eyes and questioning tongues now held nothing more than old dust and pure air.

* * *

As soon as Eisuke waved her off at the dojo and disappeared through the gates, Kaoru groaned loudly and hid her face in her hands. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid and reckless. The shame burned in the corner of her eyes and over her usually lighter cheeks and the swordswoman had to remain in the posture for several moments until she had gathered what dignity was left to close the gate behind her and slowly make her way into the dojo. Her feet were almost dragging in the ground, her head was bent down and it was in this low-esteeming state her protégé found her in.

"Hey ugly, you didn't come back last night. Where have you been?"

Kaoru glanced over at the presence of a more than annoyed young boy fully dressed in his usual yellow gi and greenish hakama, complete with a set of unruly, tangled black hair. With his foul mouth and lack of manners, he was a brat to be reckoned with and it was only thanks to Kaoru's keen attention on his behavior every other day that she could see a slight falter in his always so strong attitude. As if there had been a great uncertainty blossoming up recently and only this very moment it was starting to fade away. But as her mind returned to the present, the woman put her findings aside for the once more gloomy mood.

"I'm sorry, Yahiko. It seems I can't do anything right lately. I'll just go rest for now."

Her change of spirit was not lost on the boy and a great amount of surprise fought with the underlying anger in his dark eyes. Kaoru turned away from them and begun to move past him; dropping her sandals behind to enter the dojo. Half expecting a sneer remark as usual, she was slightly surprised when nothing emerged from the boy's lips as she walked away. It wasn't until she had almost reached the other end of the room that his yet light and childish voice called out.

"I'm off to work now. I…saved you some breakfast." With that, he hurried off not even glancing over his shoulder. Kaoru watched him leave in silence, once more in thoughts but still distant. She returned to her task and gently placed the remains of her bokken on the floor next to the wall with the several others. The one in pieces had been one of her favorite and actually a present from her father, many years ago. She had treasured and used it well and as the splinters rested unevenly together at her feet, Kaoru couldn't help but watch them as a metaphor for his broken trust in her.

The swordswoman refused to cry. It wasn't in her to do so and today was not a good day to start either. So she took a long, warm bath instead and after that visited the Kamiya family's old friend, doctor Gensai. She needed to make sure her shoulder wasn't too severely damaged and learn how to nurse it further on in the healing process. The old man looked her over with experience and carefully rubbed in a cool salve over the sore area, making Kaoru both whine and sigh at the treatment.

They sat together on the veranda and peacefully watched young Ayame and Suzume play together in the yard. Kaoru couldn't help but smile at the cute sight; it had been quite some time since they had visited the Kamiya dojo since she'd been so busy lately. Now that she watched them again she realized just how much she had missed their gleefulness.

Gensai eyed her and smiled as well. Kaoru took a deeper breath as she knew that his silence meant that he was waiting for her to fill him in on her troubles. The old man was a good listener and a wise adviser, but this once Kaoru had a harder time than usual to open up.

"A prisoner escaped thanks to me," she blurted out before she could hinder herself. She expected to be at least a bit scolded on that fact, but only warm care could be heard in his lowered voice.

"Oh. And why is that, Kaoru-san?"

"He insulted our school and I challenged him. I lost and woke up to an empty cell and this," she said and gestured towards her aching left side.

"I see," the kind man said in return. "But you see, Kaoru-san, sometimes we have to do what we believe is right and then later meet the unexpectedly and troublesome consequences afterwards."

The young woman looked up.

"Are you suggesting that I was right to start the duel?" she asked doubtfully, frowning at his logic. Gensai only shrugged.

"Didn't you think so at the time? If you hadn't thought it to be right, then you wouldn't have gone through with it, would you?"

Kaoru didn't know what to say. He was right, but still…

"But still… the prisoner escaped."

"That is a different matter. Maybe there's some way to atone for that?"

She kept silent at his words. _Since the police chief didn't believe me in the first place, any punishment delivered from now on would only feel as if I had gotten away with the real crime. _The whole matter was rather strange, and hadn't Kaoru already being depressed she would've been mad about not being heard out properly.

"Ne, Kaoru-san, why are you sad?" Ayame asked as she and her sister approached the sitting pair.

"Why sad?" repeated little Suzume and came closer to pull at Kaoru's hakama. The swordswoman shielded her face with her bangs.

"I did something stupid and now something even worse has happened because of that," she mumbled.

"But, then all you have to do is to work harder and never do it again!" Ayame smiled and raised her small fists in the air for a fighting pose. Suzume wasn't late in following the gesture.

"Work harder!" she squealed and jumped.

Kaoru just stared at them for a while until she snorted and smiled back, this time more genuinely.

"You are right. I'll fight and work harder. Thank you, Ayame-chan, Suzume-chan." She gently patted their heads and followed the trail they left behind with her gaze as they returned to another game together. Kaoru took a deep breath and let go of it, but kept her smile. Gensai saw her motion and relaxed as well, content that his friend had heard what she needed to recover.

The swordswoman tugged at the small package that Yahiko had left her in the kitchen and that she had brought with her since her appetite hadn't returned until now. It opened reluctantly and displayed three uneven rice balls with the distinct pattern of several ungracefully fingertips spread all over their surface. She grinned and took a bite, but soon realized that the boy wasn't much of a better cook than she was.

"Way too spicy," she teased and waved the wrappings in front of Yahiko's face as he returned to the Kamiya dojo later that evening. The boy caught up in an instant.

"That's coming from the right mouth," he sneered and wrinkled his nose. "And it's not like I've had much practice anyway – unlike a certain ugly girl who's been cooking daily for the past years of her life and _still _can't come up with something even close to edible."

"Is that so? Then why not have you cook for us from now on. As you said, you could use the training."

"Like I'd have the time for that? We need to raise money, remember? Or more precisely; _I _need to. I still don't understand why you had to butt in into my affairs like that in the first place."

Kaoru's smile was quickly fading into that of a scowl.

"How rude – I'm only helping you out, lending my great kenjutsu-skills and remarkable beauty to your cause. You should be grateful for all the hard work I'm putting up with, and not to mention getting free food _and _a more than decent job instead of pick-pocketing your entire life onward…"

"I didn't _ask_ for any of that!" Yahiko suddenly snapped. "I didn't ask for your help, and I sure as hell don't need it. I can pay back any debt of mine with these two hands and them alone! If you're working your ass off and even got injured on your part-time job, it's your own damn fault for putting up with it in the first place!"

Kaoru opened her mouth in surprise at the sight of the furious boy. His defiant eyes glowered with something beyond anger and his teeth were clenched together as hard as the fists at his sides. As if suddenly realizing how greatly his outburst had differed to any other quarrel they had shared so far, he looked down and turned his back on her. This way, he couldn't see how she slowly raised a hand towards him.

"Yahiko…"

"No. I won't take this any longer. I am…grateful for the opportunity to work at Akabeko, but as soon as I find another place to stay at, I'm out of here. I refuse to live off of others, like this."

The boy took off after that and as his fast footsteps faded, she could make out a distant slam of his own shoji door being shut hard.

_That selfish brat. _Kaoru growled silently and crossed her arms. That wasn't necessary – she was only helping him out because the yakuza wasn't fair to him and that in the short time she had known him, the boy had showed potential to become something way better than their errand-boy. Now, she wasn't so sure. He was extremely proud and way too self-centered to match the vision she had had for him and beside his horrible attitude problem, he didn't even want to pick up a shinai and take one lesson from her. It wasn't that she hadn't tried to – more than many times to be honest. Maybe she should just give it up. Maybe he really _was _a lost case.

Kaoru's annoyance was still well-fed, but her conscience reminded her that she wasn't entirely fair either. She had just forced her help on him and not even asking once if he really had been fine with that. In that small aspect, she wasn't even better than the yakuza she wanted to save him from…

_No Kaoru, don't go there. It's enough for one day._

Still mad however but reluctant to let it go out over the boy any further, the swordswoman went back to her cleaning. She had already spent the rest of the day trying to catch up on all the housework – or at least the things she could manage with just one arm – and even still by taking her time, some difference could already be seen. Doctor Gensai had recommended her not to do anything heavy for the next couple of days and to keep putting on the salve, but other than that to keep moving as ordinary. Even though it was a bit tough to be disenabled, Kaoru had the patience and creativity to make it work anyway and she felt a bit proud to have the opportunity to remind herself of that.

She kept going until the darkness fell outside and it was time for the evening meal. She prepared it in silence, trying her best not to recall too much of Yahiko's complaints on her cooking. She knew that she still had much to learn, but no one to learn it from. She agreed that the taste wasn't much to cheer for, or that she seldom could present a fish that wasn't burned on at least both sides, but she still tried to put her whole heart into it.

When everything was done, it took Kaoru an even longer moment to accept the fact that she would be dining alone this evening. Still sulking, she started on her own and came to the conclusion that when he eventually felt hungry enough, the boy would come out on his own.

A soft rain had started falling outside and by the time Kaoru was finished it was pouring pretty hard. It was still soothing somehow, and after the woman did the dishes she went out on the veranda to sit down for a while, gathering her thoughts to the soft splashes on the ground.

There was too things that still bothered her. The first one was the fact that she had woken up _outside_ of Himura's cell and not _inside_ as would have been far more logical since their duel had been set behind the bars. Something else that would have made more sense was to have her locked up so that she couldn't warn anybody in case she would have woken up by herself. But to actually drag her out through the door with him was just…no. It was just weird and unnecessary.

The second thing she couldn't stop wondering over, was that strange coldness that had covered his eyes while addressing himself as a traitor. Could it possibly be regret that was made visible, or…

A soft pounding on the gate ahead interrupted her flood of thoughts abruptly. Yahiko had locked the doors when he returned earlier as no one used to leave after that time and now with a sudden visitor Kaoru had to quickly find an umbrella so that she wouldn't be soaked when moving forward to unlock it.

The man on the outside was literary dripping of water and there was no spot on his clothes that wasn't dark from either water or mud. His loose, tangled hair hung heavily over his shoulders and face, but even when soaked completely through, Kaoru would recognize that fierce rust-red hair from anywhere. _Himura_ raised his head, letting most of the strands away from his face and revealed a torn blindfold covering his eyes that he only now lifted slightly to peer out from.

"Kaoru-dono…I need your help."

* * *

**Aaand there we go, finally. Sorry for the long gap folks, but a lot came up. Anyways, I'm once again very thankful for all your support and interest in this story and reading all your wonderful reviews really keeps on making my days. Thank you so much! **

**So, it was time to explain some of the questions raised so far, and to add new ones as the story progresses. (I've been itching to finally write about more of the interaction with Yahiko, haha.) I'm rather pleased with how this one turned out and I hope you enjoyed it as well even though it was a tad slower than the other chapters. **

**And now, off to write the next one. See you later!**

**~Theoris**


	4. Night of Decisions

Kaoru's wide opened eyes took in the scene again and again but couldn't explain the reason for this unexpected turn of events. Here she was, after what could possibly be one of her worst days in a very long time, still tired, aching and with a temperament she had yet to let out steam from and now the whole root of today's mental and physical pain stood at her doorstep and begged for her help.

The swordswoman looked him over one more time and her eyes fell on a pair of familiar steels at his left hip – the katana and wakizashi from the chief's office.  
She faced him again and just felt how all the frustration she'd built up poured out all at once, and a mask of her hardest refusal covered her features as she promptly leaned back.

"Forget it."

There was no way in hell that she would help out that horribly rude criminal. He could go and escape to China for all she cared. Kaoru stepped back and started to close the gate, but Himura covered the distance in a well-aimed step and quickly placed a foot between the small openings that was left.

"Wait," he said and tried to push the doors apart further but the woman stood her ground, heaving the entirety of her weight against the wood.

"No way," she hissed sharply and felt her anger rise up through her throat. "First you insult me and my teachings for no good reason, then you snoop around in things that doesn't concern you, _then _you knock me out and takes off, risking my job and my reliability, and now you come to bother me _again _and at my very _home_ to say the least…! What is _with_ you? Can't you just get a _break_ already? You won the duel and claimed your unjust price – that freedom you went on so much about. What could you possible want more - and from me? Just get lost already!"

Breathing heavily as an after-effect of her rant, Kaoru leaned against the door to steady herself and suddenly felt a change of force from the other side as Himura stopped pushing. The shift made her look down to what she first had thought was a firm wooden geta, but now realized that the immovable blocking of the gate was a bare foot covered in mud.

Decency pulled her together and made her ease her own pushing somewhat as well, unsure of any possible damage she might have caused to his poor foot.

"That is not completely accurate."

She flinched and her grip of the umbrella hardened.

"What is not accurate?" she barked back, still more than mad and eager to get him off her case once and for all. He took his time to answer and the only sound that filled the air around the pair for a while was the hard and impartial stream of never ending raindrops.

"What you said about me being able to claim my freedom."

Kaoru snorted.

"That's right, of course not. How dumb of me. You'll just be chased all over Japan until you're either captured or escape the country and go into hiding. Sure, I understand completely. You'll never be completely free, but guess what? That's not _any _of my problems!"

Feeling ready to either push his foot away or stomp on it – any way to get him out of here, Kaoru lost some of her determination upon hearing his next answer.

"That's not it at all. I… Please Kaoru-dono, I… I can't see."

The fury she had felt filling her up only a second ago all but disappeared at that one, small sentence that was almost choked forward on the last word. There was araw, underlying fear behind it, a feeling that didn't go together with her image of the sharp-tongued, witty and ruthless prisoner she had met the other day.

"What..?" she said and almost opened the gate, forgetting for a moment with whom she was talking to.

"Let me show you," the quiet voice continued, beaten and surrendering. Kaoru still hesitated. What if it was all a play, a trick to get inside? Her instinct told her to send him off and never speak of this again, but another thought appeared and reminded her of the fact that he could also possibly be speaking the truth. What if he truly couldn't see – how hard wouldn't life be on him then? Would she just leave him there in the rain with not as much as a look over to be sure of his condition? Once again greatly frustrated, indecisive and stressed, Kaoru bit her lower lip and tried her absolute hardest to come up with a quick solution that would do both her lost pride and her conscience justice…

"Please, Kaoru-dono… I know of no one else."

That could unmistakably be nothing but the truth after all. Sighing deeply, the woman promptly gave up and in and opened the door, but before Himura had a chance to step in, her outstretched hand stopped him in his tracks.

"Let me see your eyes," she demanded, referring to his blindfold. He immediately reached for it and pulled it down over his face. He opened the eyelids with great effort, as if it pained just to be peering out of them even the slightest and Kaoru leaned forward to examine them better. In the soft light from the moon, she could make out what looked like a small layer of something white over his amber orbs. It didn't look nearly as covered as the few blind folks she had seen in her life, but it didn't look so well either. Since it would be impossible to fake something like that, and along with the sight of tears that rapidly filled his eyes after having they opened for so long, Kaoru concluded that his trouble with his eyesight was indeed no lie.

"What happened?"

Himura shook his head sadly. He pulled the dark blindfold back in place.

"They've been like this since I left the prison. I couldn't even open them during the daytime and by now I can only make out shadows – if I'm quick enough."

Kaoru took one step back and crossed her arms. Now that she had calmed down a bit she could think more clearly again and she didn't like what she came up with. If he couldn't see, then all he could do was to continue to hide. If all he could to was hiding, he couldn't find any food and would soon either have to turn himself in to the police or starve to death. Considering how long he'd been in prison already, the latter was more likely to happen.

As if on cue, a rumbling groan could be heard through the loud sound of rain and they both directed their heads towards the area of his stomach.

"Kaoru-dono," Himura began with just a hint of a more urgent edge in his soft voice. "If you're having a hard time deciding, then maybe I could just ask you of my f~"  
But Kaoru wasn't really listening. Instead she sighed, gathered her courage with the next breath and opened the gate fully.

"I've decided," she said and if Himura couldn't see her determination, he could hear it well enough.

"Come in."

"Thank you," he mumbled and stepped forward, stopping only to hear her lock the doors behind him and finding the light touch of a hand on his arm to guide him inside.

The swordswoman took him to the kitchen and had him sit down as she quickly prepared and served Yahiko's leftovers. This once, and this once only she was a little bit thankful for his huge pride that hadn't allowed him to come out and eat it all already.

There was now a small, wet trail of muddy water gracing the floor from the prisoner's path, but that would have to wait to later to be taken care of. She told him to eat up and stay there during the time she went out to prepare a bath for him. At the mentioning of washing, she could almost see how a spark of longing went through the entirety of his body.

As soon as she had the fires burning again for the heating of the water and urged the filthy and still dripping man inside, Kaoru closed the door to the bath behind her and slowly sunk to the ground with the massive wood against her back.

She had done it. She had taken that awful criminal in. The young woman didn't know what to think of herself anymore, other than that she knew it would have been worse to just leave him out there to meet his end. She knew that she wouldn't be able to turn anyone hurt down, no matter whom they were or where they were from. The grumpy boy some doors away was a living proof to this.

_Think, Kaoru, think! There's got to be some way out of this, some way to…_

_"…maybe there's some way to atone for that?"_

That's right. Doctor Gensai's words from earlier flew past her head and in that moment Kaoru knew what she had to do. She had to hand Himura over to the police. This way, not only would she properly be able to atone for his escape and of all the trouble they'd probably already had in looking for him, but it would also clear her conscience of her resent decision to harbor him. She would hand him new clothes, meals and an appointment with the doctor tomorrow to see what they could do about his eyes, and after that she would simply go back to the prison and alert everyone on where they could find the prisoner.

Seemingly relieved, Kaoru leaned her head back towards the door behind her and closed her eyes. All was not lost. She could still save this. And she would be able to keep her job too. And Yahiko…

The stone in her chest that had been lifted by her recent thoughts was replaced by another. _But I've already been through this. _She wouldn't – _couldn't – _just leave the poor boy to his fate, not matter how annoying and selfish he was. He needed his help with this and even though he couldn't admit it himself, she sure as hell could. Even if it meant that her life or her _freedom_ (as Himura so _delicately_ had stated) were slowly being drained then so be it. It made her somewhat sulky that he'd been so right about that even though he hardly knew anything about her.

Speaking of the devil, suddenly Yahiko himself walked in and quickly halted when his eyes found her sitting there on the floor as if it was the most natural thing to do in the world. His head jerked back and one dark eyebrow shot up questioningly.

"What are you doing there, ugly?" he asked with a bit too rough in his tone. Not sure where to begin in telling him in on all this mess, Kaoru merely gaped in response. A small splash could be heard from the other side of the door.

"Are you… keeping someone in there?" Yahiko asked, clearly more interested by the second. The swordswoman regained her senses and jumped to her feet.

"Yes! Yes I am, and I'll tell you all about it if you come with me now," she quickly said and practically dragged the youngster out of there.

Back in the kitchen, she had to go through the entire story at least twice before Yahiko was fully informed on all the details. Well, all but one.

"What a minute," he said with his mouth full of a night snack. When they had arrived, Kaoru hadn't been able to get him to stop staring at the now empty bowls on the tray that would have been his until she promised to prepare something else for him.

"You said that he would apologize to you if you won, but what would _you _do if the roles were reversed?"

Kaoru almost dropped the bowl that she was washing.

"I…completely forgot about that," she mumbled finally. "The deal was that I would owe him a favor…"

"A favor? Just like that? Man, Kaoru, you are one stupid girl."

"Oh yeah? Then what would you have offered, brat?"

Yahiko swallowed the last of the food and leaned back against the floor with his hands behind his head.

"At least _I _wouldn't be so stupid as to give him the opportunity to practically ask for anything he wants."

"Not everything," Kaoru hurried to explain. "I made sure of that. He can only wish for something that I'd be okay with to grant."

Yahiko snorted loudly.

"And you think something like that is going to save you from the worst possible outcomes? I hate to say this, ugly, but you're doomed."

"What? I'm not, and I've already let you in on my plan. I have everything under control."

"In control my ass. If he's even half as good as you've told me, you would need to call half the police station at the very least to have him recaptured. Good luck with that, really. I don't envy being in your clothes."

"Well, you do live in this house though, so whatever happens to me will without any doubt affect you too." At this, the boy looked away and squirmed slightly.

"Can I rely on your support in this matter, Yahiko? I'd rather not be entirely alone with this."**  
**

"S-sure. Whatever."

He fell completely silent shortly after and by when Kaoru had finished washing the dishes and thrown out the water, she strongly suspected that he had fallen asleep. It was pretty late after all and the young woman couldn't help but to yawn herself as she went through the motions to prepare a room for her guest. He would have to do with hers for the time being as she moved her own futon further down the corridor to her late father's old room. She had already left some of his old clothes from the younger days for Himura to find after the bath, but after that her generosity had been forced. To be entirely honest, she wasn't particularly fond of letting him wear the clothes either, but since they didn't do much good being hidden away in the old closets and since she had no other extra clothing to lend that would be anywhere near of fitting, she couldn't do much about it.

A loud crash brought her back from her thoughts with a jerk and she simply dropped what belongings she had been carrying to rush to the source of the noise. She entered the kitchen _again _only to find Yahiko fully awake and alert with a bowl raised above his head and with Himura only steps away with his drawn katana pointing towards the boy. There were the broken remains of what looked like another piece of Kaoru's crockery shattered all over the floor between them and it was likely the sound from breaking that that had startled her.

"What's going on here?" Kaoru demanded to know as she spoke in her firmest voice and stepped closer to the scene and the pair amidst it. They both answered at the same time and without turning away from one another.

"The damn prisoner scared the ass off of me, hovering over me while I was sleeping…!"

"Who is this boy, Kaoru-dono?"

At the mentioning of her name, the swordswoman hurried to come closer.

"Hey, take it easy – both of you. This here is~"

"I'm fully capable of introducing myself, thank you," Yahiko growled as he quickly glanced at her before his hard eyes returned to the blindfolded stranger before him.

"My name is Myojin Yahiko and I'm the descendant of a Tokyo samurai. You'd do best to remember that," he bit off. At his words, Himura lowered his sword a little, but kept it pointing Yahiko's chest area as the crimson haired man lifted the cloth aside from his eyes and seemed to take in no more than a second of glancing at the boy. His steel remained raised.

Kaoru, who hadn't missed the motion and was slowly but firmly getting too tired to deal with all this, walked closer and smacked him lightly but determined on the shoulder.

"Stop it. You're in _my_ _home_ now. Behave accordingly or I won't do anything more for you." She gave him a few seconds and finally he lowered his weapon and sheathed it. His opponent put down his arm with the bowl as well.

"And I think we should all head for our beds now, since this day has just been way too long all together," she continued.

"But Kaoru…"

"No buts. Good night, Yahiko."

The boy slowly gave in.

"Fine. But fill me in as soon as something happens, alright? And you – what was your name again? _Kenshin?_ I'll keep an eye on you." He shot one last, angry glare towards the other man and even though it wasn't possible for the swordsman to actually see it, Kaoru was somehow completely sure that he had.  
After a moment of silence that was way shorter than what would have usually been appropriate, she spoke up again.

"Come with me, I'll show you were you'll be sleeping," she said and carefully took his outstretched arm that had moved on its own before she had even finished her sentence. She concluded that he was probably just as exhausted – or possibly more – than she was by now.

They arrived outside of her room in moments and she pushed the shoji door out of the way and led him in.

"You'll borrow this room for now. It's actually mine, but while you use it I won't be sleeping here."

She stayed put in the doorway as the prisoner went through the small room with his now remarkably cleaner hands. When she fell silent, he stopped taking in his surroundings.

"And where will you be sleeping, _Kaoru-dono_?" The tone in his voice made her flinch even though she couldn't really tell what was wrong in it.

"Somewhere else," she blurted out before she regained her composure.

"In my father's old room."

"And I take it that these are your father's as well?" he asked and pulled softly at his new clothes. He was now dressed in a deep blue kimono and white, clean hakama. They fit him unfairly well, and together with the shiny color of his once more tied up hair, it called for a sight one wouldn't soon forget.

"Yes, they were," the swordswoman finished with just the smallest hint of sorrow slipping through her guard. If he had heard it, he had at least the right amount of decency not to comment on it.

"Well, I thank you again, Kaoru-dono. You have been most generous. If that is all, I would now like to wish you a good night."

The young woman could feel a small smile tugging in the corner of her lips, but she suppressed the urge.

"Thank you, Ken~ - _Himura_….-san." She tripped on the words way too easy now in her tiredness. He smiled widely at her mistake.

"I actually prefer 'Kenshin', if you may. I haven't heard it in a very long time."

Kaoru gazed upon him before she nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, _Kenshin_, and I wish you a good night too."

She turned to leave, but stopped right in her tracks as she suddenly recalled the most important thing – the thing that would decide whether she would be able to turn him in or not later.

"After this, I don't owe you anything anymore. This is the favor I'm paying since I lost the duel." She decided to play the safer card of pretending to assume, since it would be way too risky to just ask if this was it and giving him the opportunity to simply deny it. However, it turned out that he did so anyway.

"This isn't the favor," he said, sounding neither surprised nor demanding. He could have spoken about the weather in the same manner.

"Yes, it is," Kaoru tried again, feeling cold sweat of uneasiness down her neck. "I practically saved your life tonight. It's not likely that I could ever top that anyway, so…"

Kenshin merely snorted at that.

"It's not about the bigger the favor; this gesture of yours was your decision and yours alone. We never agreed that this would be my reward. And besides, I saved your life as well, so we're even on _that – _no more."

Kaoru didn't know what to say and just stood perfectly still, frowning deeply. She had just lost for the second time to this man during the last twenty-four hours that had passed. She couldn't believe it. Annoyance and fear slowly filled her from feet to head, as she realized that she wouldn't be able to fix this matter as easily as she had first thought.

"Saved my life? You mean when you just knocked me out cold instead of finishing me off?" She asked instead, as there was no point in trying to argue further right now anyway. There was a small pause that was just a little bit too long. **  
**

"…ah."

She stared him down, but he showed her nothing of his thoughts in his posture. For once during this long and eventful evening, she truly wished she could have seen his eyes for the moment. Unsatisfied, she sighed deeply and placed her head in her hand.

**"**Fine, but I'll have you know that I don't usually stay in debt to people for very long."

Kaoru glanced up just in time to find that his lips curved upwards slowly. The grin that was full of mischief was back.

"I'll keep that in mind," he purred and tilted his head to the side. "Good night, _Kaoru-dono_."**  
**

"Good night," she grumbled as she left and closed the door behind her. Kami knew she could truly use a full night's sleep right know. Unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky.

* * *

**Ahaha, I'm so tired. Being a baby-sitter for my two younger brothers is nice and funny, but now it feels as if someone has beaten me with an iron, repeatedly and to the face. At least I'll sleep better tonight than Kaoru can ever hope to do. Poor Kaoru. Life keeps handing her strange men on a plate. Too bad for her, I'm pretty sure Kenshin won't be the last one either. But keep your chin up, girl! You'll come to like it, one day!**

**It felt like I had to bring up a lot of details this time and make sure everything's on board to sort things out a bit. I _hope _I didn't manage to leave anything important out, but my head's spinning a bit now so I don't feel completely reliable any longer. Oh well, in a while the plot will speed up further and I'm really looking forward to write those parts and share them with you. Thank you so much for all your nice thoughts and encouragements. I actually teared up a few times, haha. Really, you guys are the best. See you in a week!**

**~Theoris **


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